March 06, 2019 at 08:14PM
John Vermulm thought being the Cut Bank High School wolf mascot when he was a freshman, was a dream come true. But then, he found himself trying out for the cheer squad, also as a freshman. He made the squad and for the last four years, has been loving the whole cheering "thing." It too, has become a dream come true for him.
John, a senior at Cut Bank High School, and the son of John Vermulm, Sr. and Sonya McLean, said, "I have stayed on the squad because it is fun and I enjoy going to practices and seeing everyone getting better as the season progresses. I also love going to the games and cheering on all of our sports teams."
John is a self-taught, self-instructed, cheerleader. "My first two years of doing cheer, I did not have very many skills. My sophomore year was the first year I started stunting and was put through all three positions, base, back spot and flyer."
While he liked doing stunts while cheering, he knew there was something else he could add to the cheering world he was so enjoying. "I decided that I was going to teach myself how to do a back handspring (flip-flop)."
He started out on doing back handsprings on a friend's trampoline "and once I got it on there, I moved to the ground. Being on the ground was a little harder due to the fact that it was not bouncy like a trampoline and I was scared that I was going to land on my head," he laughed.
That might have happened, but rather than risk that, he opted to practice with some padded wedges and a spotter, Cidney Claycomb.
"After the wedge I moved to a flat mat and started doing my handsprings down the mat once I got over my fear," recalls John.
He added more gymnastic moves once he became more comfortable, putting in a round-off and another handspring and then another and another and even picked up a back-tuck flip from gymnastic classes he went to in Conrad.
Now, John is the guy doing back handsprings the length of the gym and back.
"I love getting the crowd going when we do a stunt or when I do back handsprings down the whole basketball court and all the way back," he shared.
The cheer squad at Cut Bank High School has averaged anywhere from eight all the way up to 17 cheerleaders. This year the squad has 10 and all 10 have been allowed to travel to tournaments. This allowed the squad to incorporate "bigger and more impressive stunts into our halftime routine," said John.
"I love the feeling of everyone getting excited for tournaments and showing off our half-time routine. One of the best feelings is when we decide to try a new stunt and it works out perfect," he added.
It used to be that cheering was just "for the girls," but not anymore. Like John, more and more males are joining that sport and are being cast in major roles. Male cheerleaders are not just the stunt men anymore.
"Cheer from a male's perspective is a little different from other peoples. Most males in cheer are typically stunt men and only come in for the stunting portion. For me, I do the same thing as a cheerleader. I cheer for our team, get the crowd going and pose as a role model," he explained.
He enjoys this so much, he is including cheering in his college plans this fall.
"After high school, I am going to Rocky Mountain College in Billings. I will be going into Health and Human Performances for Physical Education and pursuing a minor in coaching. I chose this field because I always loved P.E. classes and would love to teach it. I also want to become a cheer coach and hopefully coach my own cheer squad one day."
John plans on trying out for the cheer squad at Rocky Mountain College and is hoping he will "cheer for another four years. This fits in because Rocky has a cheer program and I have only heard good things about it. It also fits in because I would be getting more experience within the program, which would help me with my coaching career."
But John's cheering dreams do not stop there.
"I would love to be on a national squad or an all-star squad and compete at larger events or maybe cheer for a professional team or a new, upcoming team," he said. "I would do cheer for my whole life if I could."
Until college starts in the fall, this high school senior will continue his own practice schedule and look back on the great four years of cheering he did for the Cut Bank Wolves sports teams.
John Vermulm thought being the Cut Bank High School wolf mascot when he was a freshman, was a dream come true. But then, he found himself trying out for the cheer squad, also as a freshman. He made the squad and for the last four years, has been loving the whole cheering "thing." It too, has become a dream come true for him.
John, a senior at Cut Bank High School, and the son of John Vermulm, Sr. and Sonya McLean, said, "I have stayed on the squad because it is fun and I enjoy going to practices and seeing everyone getting better as the season progresses. I also love going to the games and cheering on all of our sports teams."
John is a self-taught, self-instructed, cheerleader. "My first two years of doing cheer, I did not have very many skills. My sophomore year was the first year I started stunting and was put through all three positions, base, back spot and flyer."
While he liked doing stunts while cheering, he knew there was something else he could add to the cheering world he was so enjoying. "I decided that I was going to teach myself how to do a back handspring (flip-flop)."
He started out on doing back handsprings on a friend's trampoline "and once I got it on there, I moved to the ground. Being on the ground was a little harder due to the fact that it was not bouncy like a trampoline and I was scared that I was going to land on my head," he laughed.
That might have happened, but rather than risk that, he opted to practice with some padded wedges and a spotter, Cidney Claycomb.
"After the wedge I moved to a flat mat and started doing my handsprings down the mat once I got over my fear," recalls John.
He added more gymnastic moves once he became more comfortable, putting in a round-off and another handspring and then another and another and even picked up a back-tuck flip from gymnastic classes he went to in Conrad.
Now, John is the guy doing back handsprings the length of the gym and back.
"I love getting the crowd going when we do a stunt or when I do back handsprings down the whole basketball court and all the way back," he shared.
The cheer squad at Cut Bank High School has averaged anywhere from eight all the way up to 17 cheerleaders. This year the squad has 10 and all 10 have been allowed to travel to tournaments. This allowed the squad to incorporate "bigger and more impressive stunts into our halftime routine," said John.
"I love the feeling of everyone getting excited for tournaments and showing off our half-time routine. One of the best feelings is when we decide to try a new stunt and it works out perfect," he added.
It used to be that cheering was just "for the girls," but not anymore. Like John, more and more males are joining that sport and are being cast in major roles. Male cheerleaders are not just the stunt men anymore.
"Cheer from a male's perspective is a little different from other peoples. Most males in cheer are typically stunt men and only come in for the stunting portion. For me, I do the same thing as a cheerleader. I cheer for our team, get the crowd going and pose as a role model," he explained.
He enjoys this so much, he is including cheering in his college plans this fall.
"After high school, I am going to Rocky Mountain College in Billings. I will be going into Health and Human Performances for Physical Education and pursuing a minor in coaching. I chose this field because I always loved P.E. classes and would love to teach it. I also want to become a cheer coach and hopefully coach my own cheer squad one day."
John plans on trying out for the cheer squad at Rocky Mountain College and is hoping he will "cheer for another four years. This fits in because Rocky has a cheer program and I have only heard good things about it. It also fits in because I would be getting more experience within the program, which would help me with my coaching career."
But John's cheering dreams do not stop there.
"I would love to be on a national squad or an all-star squad and compete at larger events or maybe cheer for a professional team or a new, upcoming team," he said. "I would do cheer for my whole life if I could."
Until college starts in the fall, this high school senior will continue his own practice schedule and look back on the great four years of cheering he did for the Cut Bank Wolves sports teams.